Computer Programmers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$70,884
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$22,916
24.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,786
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$93,800
Kept after tax
$70,884
Worth in national money
$78,786
State rank
24
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Alabama pays computer programmers around $93,800 at the midpoint, 24 of 46 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 482 occupations Alabama reports, computer programmers comes in at 68 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $93,800 you keep $70,884, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $78,786 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $96,410, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For computer programmers the Alabama median is $93,800, ranking 24 of 46 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Computer programmers ranks 68 of 482 occupations by median in Alabama, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for computer programmers on $93,800 is $70,884. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $78,786 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $96,410 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Computer Programmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $93,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,330 |
| This salary | $93,800 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $70,884 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $74,818 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,792 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $88,207 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,476 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of computer programmers in Alabama earn under $93,800 and half over. The published range runs $58,100 at the tenth percentile to $132,330 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $70,884, worked from $93,800. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 68 of 482.
- Two cautions on $78,786, the adjusted value of that $93,800 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Alabama. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 68 of 482 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for computer programmers in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $58,100 to $132,330; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Alabama take-home of $70,884, on $93,800 for work ranking 68 of 482 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 68 of 482 in the state.
- This $78,786 adjusted figure, worked from $93,800, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 68 of 482 in the state. The occupation ranks 68 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $58,100 at the bottom tenth to $132,330 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $78,786 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $70,884 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($58,100) and the ninetieth ($132,330) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $78,786 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $70,884 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.